Conduit-wiring device.



N. J. BIGHAM.

GONDUIT WIRING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED APB. ze, 1912.

1,107,250, Patented Aug. 18, l914 @Nit FICE.

NEAL I. BIGHAM, or nnrnorr, MICHIGAN.

i coNDUIfr-winine DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Auw. 18, 1914.

Application led April 26, 1912. Serial No. 693,433.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, NEAL J. BIGHAM, a citizen of the United Statesl of America, residing' atV Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and usefulrImprovements in Con-- duit-"Wiring Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to a device for feeding or threading a wire through a conduit and for rewinding the threading wire toV draw the cable, wires, or the like through the conduit.

The invention consists in the provisions of a simple and` efficient device whereby the size and weight thereof may be reduced to a minimum; in the provisions of a structure whereby the threading wire may bek wound in a flat coil and held from uncoiling; in the construction of a guide which automatically adjusts itself to the size of the coil; and in certain details of construction as will more fully hereinafter appear.

The invention resides in a peculiar construction, arrangement and combination of parts, as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

' In the drawings Figures. l .and 2 .are side elevations of the device embodying my invention, looking from opposite directions, and, Fig. 3 is an end elevation, partly in section.

A designates the frame of the machine and B the reel, each of said members being preferably in the form of a flat, circular, metallic disk, said disks being secured together by means of a bolt C. 'Ihe inner face of the disk B is provided'with a guide forl receiving the threading wire D. This guide preferably is inthe form of a spiral groove E extending from adjacent the Vcenter of the disk and to near its periphery. At the top the disk'A is cut away as at'F, to receive an auxiliary guide member G, which has one end pivoted tothe frame atH, and has the other end provided with a pin I engaging the spiral groove. The free end J of the member Gr is of reduced cross-section and is ,l positioned beneath the recessed edge K ofy the cut-away portion, so as to retain the pin 1 I wit-hin the spiral groove. On the inner side the member Gr is provided with a groove L 'which forms an auxiliary guide for the threading wire between the spiral groove and the short, eitble conduit M, carried by the frame, the flexible conduit serving toV direct the threading wire to the point desired.

N is the handle for rotating the rcel and @are clips carried by the disk A at the periphery thereto which have inwardly eX- tending portions l? for engaging the edge of the disk B. whereby'spread of the disks adjacent theirperipheries is prevented.

The frame A may be supported in any suitable manner, but in the construction illustrated in the drawings I have provided a device which is adapted to'be carriedA by the operator, since in wiring buildings, it is frequently necessary for the wiring' to be done while the operator is upon the ladder. As shown the disk `A has a breast plate Q. secured thereto andl is provided with a bearing flange R, to which shoulder straps are secured. In order to reduce the weight of the device to a minimum, the disks arepreferably of aluminum.

Normally the wire D is wound upon the reel within the spiral groove, the inner end o f the wire beingV secured to the reel as by a screw T.

In operation of the parts so far described, if it is desired to thread a conduit the frame A is supported so as to be stationary and the reel rotated in aforward direction forcing the threading wire `outward through the groove L to the conduit M. As the reel rotates, since the pin I is in' engagement with the spiral groove, it will lcause the member G to follow the coil. Thus, when the threadl ing wire is nearly entirely unwound, the member G will be in the position shown in the dotted lines in Fig.`1. vIn re-winding Vthrough the conduit, considerable force is required. I have, therefore, so connected the handle to the reel that the handle may be rotativelv adjusted inrelation tothe reel, to permit the handle to be so positioned as to provide the best leverage forV the operator. 'Io this end, both the disksare loosely j ournaled upon thebolt C and the handle is'carried by a member U, which has one end adapted to detachably engage abutments V upon the outer face of the member B. To permitfof its engagement or disengagement, the inner end of said member is provided with a slotted portion W,.slidably engaging the boltC so as to permit of member U to be moved or slid into and out of engagement with the abutments V. A suitable retaining device may be provided for preventing accidental disengagement of the outer end of the member U froml the bearings, this being accomplished in the construction shown by means of a spring X adapted to engage over the upper face of the bearings V. l To adjust the handle it is merely necessary to slightlyraise the spring X and move the member U inward until the outer end thereof passes out of engagement with the bearings. The handle may be thenturned to aline the outer end with another of the bearings V and then moved outward into engagement therewith. While I have shown and described the vpreferred form `0f my invention, I do not desire to limitv myself to the construction shown.- v What I claim as my invention is l. In a device for threading conduits, the

Vcombination with aV frame of a disk journaled on the frame having a spiral groove `forming a guide for the threading wire, an auxiliary guide pivoted to the frame, and means for. causing said auxiliary guide to follow the ythreading wire during the rotation of the reel. v

2. A fish wire machine, comprising a supporting frame, a disk revolubly mounted thereon and having ay spirally-arranged groove in one of kits fiat faces adapted to receive the fish wire, and a carriage movable transversely of said groove and provided with a guide to receive said fish wirel* 3. VA conduit fish wire machine, comprising a frame including a circular, stationary disk, a revolving disk centrally mounted on said stationary disk and having a spirallyarranged groove in one of its flat faces, said stationary disk having a' radial opening therein, andja carriage movable over said opening and transversely of said groove, and provided with a guide to receive the end of the sh wire in said groove.

4:. A machinel of the class described, comprising a revolving vdisk having a groove in one of'its flat faces extending spirally from the center toward the periphery of the disk,

l Copie@ of this patent may be obtained for bending or buckling of the wire, a guide adapted to receive the outer end of the wire, and means for preventing the coils of the wire from. being accidentally discharged from said groove.

5. A machine of the class described, comprising va disk having a Hat surfaceand a groove formed therein extending spirally from a point neart-he axis of said disk to the periphery thereof, the convolutions of said groove being concentric, a wiretting within said groove and having its inner end secured to said disk, and a guide movable to points of varying distances from the axis of the disk adapted to receive the outer endof said wire.

6. In a device forxthreading conduits, the combination of a frame and a disk journaled in the frame having a spiral groove in one of its lflat faces forming a guide for receiving the threading wire. Y 'Y 7. In a device for threading conduits, the combination of a frame, and a reel comprising complementary comparatively flat disks, 1

one of said disks having a spiral groove in one of its flat faces forming a guide for the v pivoted to the frame and provided with a 1 slot formingan auxiliary guide, and 'apin on said memberv traveling in said spiral groove, whereby said auxiliary guide follows the threading wire during'the rotation of the wire. v

9. In a device for` threading conduits, the combination with av disk having a. spiral groove in one of its flat faces, forming a guide for receiving the threading wire, of means for successively disengaging the wire laterally from different portions of the spiral groove.

10. In a device for threading conduits, a member comprising a disk having Va spiral groove in one of'its fiat faces, forming a guide for'receiving the threading wire, said member being rotatable in one direction to wind the threading wire in said groove in a fiat spiral coil, and means cooperating with the spiral groove for positively projecting W. BELKNAP, JAMES l?. BARRY..

ve cents each, by Mre-5511,12 l'111e Commissioner 0f latgntl i Y Washington, D. c. Y 

